The New York judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial rejected the latest bid to dismiss the case, questioning the credibility of a key defense witness and citing his nearly $900,000 fee.
In his order denying a motion for a directed verdict on Monday, Judge Arthur Engoron rejected certain aspects of the defense’s arguments, focusing on what he deemed “fatal flaws” in their bid to have the case tossed for lack of evidence.
The judge wrote that “the most glaring flaw” in the defense’s motion is the assumption by President Trump’s lawyers that the testimony of their experts “is true and accurate, or at least that the Court, as the trier of fact, will accept it as true and accurate.”
One of the experts mentioned in the order, New York University Professor of Accounting Eli Bartov, refuted any suggestion that his payment influenced his assessment and said he was “shocked” by the judge’s remarks.
“Bartov is a tenured professor, but all that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say,” Judge Engoron wrote in the three-page ruling. “His overarching point was that the subject statements of financial condition were accurate in every respect.”
Mr. Bartov testified on Dec. 7 that he did not find any evidence of fraud in the Trump family real estate company’s financial statements, which are central to the New York attorney general’s allegations of overstating property values to gain favorable loan and insurance terms.
However, he pointed out in an email that his testimony included the fact that President Trump’s statement contained errors.
“No expert rebutted my testimony or testified that they found fraud,” Mr. Bartov said. “As to his speculation that my billing rate had anything to do with my opinion, this is my standard billing rate.”
Mr. Bartov disclosed that he billed more than $870,000 for approximately 650 hours of work, with payments received from both the Trump Organization and Save America, a political action committee supporting Trump’s 2024 election campaign.
‘Lost All Credibility’
While it is common for experts to be paid by the party seeking their involvement, Judge Engoron used the compensation to question Mr. Bartov’s credibility.
The judge said that Mr. Bartov had “lost all credibility” by “doggedly” attempting to justify every misstatement in the Statements of Financial Condition detailed in a prior summary judgment decision. He reiterated that the financial records already contained “numerous obvious errors,” which he found before the trial began.
Judge Engoron’s ruling was a “complete mischaracterization” of his testimony, Mr. Bartov said, reported CNBC.
Mr. Bartov clarified that his statements during the trial acknowledged the presence of errors in the financial statements, notably the valuation of President Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower. However, Mr. Bartov asserted that he identified these errors as unintentional rather than indicative of fraud.
“I’m shocked that the judge mischaracterized my testimony in this way,” Mr. Bartov said.
In response to Judge Engoron’s ruling, Christopher Kise, a lawyer for President Trump, criticized it as a “complete failure to address the legal elements of the claims.”
“All that seems to matter is arriving at a predetermined destination,” Mr. Kise said.
The trial revolves around allegations that President Trump and his adult sons manipulated financial statements to deceive banks and insurers. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in penalties and President Trump’s ban from the state’s real estate business.
President Trump, denying any wrongdoing, has labeled the case politically motivated. Last week, he filed an appeal against a gag order in the trial to the New York Supreme Court.
“Petitioners President Donald J. Trump … hereby appeal to the Court of Appeals of the State of New York from the Decision and Order of the Appellate Division, First Department, dated December 14, 2023,” the former president’s attorney stated in a filing.
In an order issued on Nov. 30, a four-judge panel of the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division overturned a temporary suspension of the gag order, which was initially imposed by Judge Engoron on Oct. 3.
The gag order, which was paused and then reimposed, prohibits President Trump from making public statements about the court staff after the judge and his staff purportedly received hundreds of threatening messages, court documents show. President Trump has accused Judge Engoron and his top clerk of political bias.
Closing arguments for the trial are scheduled for Jan. 11, coinciding with the arraignment of Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, in his tax evasion case.
Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times